An Asian elephant named Tamar has given birth to a calf at the Jerusalem Zoo after undergoing a rare artificial insemination procedure, Israeli news agency reported yesterday.
The calf weighs 90 kilograms and is the 11th elephant in the world to be born through this method, according to Haaretz.
Zoo staff were concerned about the health of the 21-year-old mother and the fetus when labor did not progress after 4 hours.
However, 2 hours later, the calf was born healthy, and the mother was safe. Approximately 40% of calves die at birth or within their first year, Haaretz noted.
Scientists indicate that Asian elephants are an endangered species, with only about 34,000 to 54,000 individuals remaining in the wild.
The calf was born last Saturday at the Tisch Family Zoo in Jerusalem, from sperm donated by a male elephant residing in the UK.
Asian elephants typically have a gestation period of 22 months, and newborn calves weigh around 100 kilograms. Artificial insemination is a complex procedure for elephants because sperm cannot be frozen. In Tamar’s case, the sperm was transported from the UK via three flights.
